Pence to Harvey victims: ‘You’ve inspired the nation’

Vice President Mike Pence is offering a personal touch as he visits victims of Harvey’s destruction and thanks volunteers working on the recovery effort. (Aug. 31)AP

Deidra Cate (left) is comforted by Vice President Mike Pence in Rockport, TX at the First Baptist Rockport on Thursday, August 31, 2017. Several secretaries of state and the Vice-President visited Rockport to reaffirm the federal government’s promise of help for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Cate said parents are extremely concerned about the state of the schools and want to get them running as soon as possible.(Photo: Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times)

ROCKPORT, Texas — All along State Highway 35, utility crews have worked for days to restore power to residents in Aransas County. But parts of Highway 35 were lined with adults and children on Thursday, some waving American flags, to welcome Vice President Mike Pence to Rockport.

Nearly a week since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Aransas County, devastating the small communities of Rockport, Fulton and the surrounding areas, Pence visited South Texas. Members of President Trump’s Cabinet, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, (R-Texas) accompanied Pence to survey the damage left behind by Hurricane Harvey.

The vice president and his wife, Karen, arrived with White House staff shortly before 11:30 a.m. CT at the Corpus Christi International Airport. They then departed to Rockport in a motorcade, arriving shortly after noon.

Pence and members of the president’s Cabinet — including U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Texas governor Rick Perry — stopped at First Baptist Church of Rockport to visit with residents affected by the storm.

“You’ve inspired the nation – you’ve inspired the nation by your resilience and by your courage,” Pence said to more than 150 people gathered outside the church for his visit.

Behind Pence, the heavily damaged building showed the scars left behind by Hurricane Harvey last week. A gaping hole was left where the church’s choir room was located, and cinder blocks were strewn near the building….